MindShift Power Podcast

Most people talk about autism. Far fewer can tell you what it actually feels like to walk into a workplace while autistic and wonder if the rules are about to change without warning. We sit down with Sam Mitchell, executive director of Autism Rocks And Rolls, for a raw, practical conversation about fear, literal instructions, and why a job that “looks fine on paper” can become overwhelming the mom...

What would you do if the news you were producing no longer felt like the truth? We sit down with author and activist Susan Burgess Lent, who walked away from broadcast journalism and chose to learn firsthand what conflict and poverty do to people, from post-genocide Rwanda to Darfur and the slums of Nairobi. She doesn’t romanticize humanitarian aid or conflict reporting. She tells the story the wa...

“Aren’t you glad you’re free?” sounds like a celebration, but for many young men coming home from prison it lands like pressure, confusion, and a thousand urgent questions. We sit down with Tavon J. Partlow Sr. from Maryland, founder of Re-entry Recovery and Beyond, to talk about the real first moments after incarceration and the parts most people never think to ask about. We get honest about the...

The “windowless van” story is not what puts most teens at risk. The real danger often looks like attention, gifts, flattery, and a private message that slowly turns into a demand. We sit down with Basil Bass, founder of the Association for the Recovery of Children, former CIA operative, and former U.S. Marine Corps captain, to talk plainly about how trafficking recruitment and grooming work in the...

Your body doesn’t “overreact” for no reason, and your habits aren’t random. We’re joined by Patty Cabot, a New York based author whose story cuts through diet culture and goes straight to the root: how childhood sexual abuse can shape weight, boundaries, self-worth, and the way we show up in relationships for decades. Patty shares how she spent more than 20 years gaining and losing 50 to 75 pounds...

You can be “high functioning” on the outside and barely surviving on the inside. That’s why this conversation hits so hard: Randy Lee Boslaw, an author, YouTube host, mental health advocate, and former high-level kickboxer, shares what it’s like to fight depression for decades before discovering in her mid-30s that she’s autistic. One sentence from her child set the whole thing in motion, and sudd...

Phones didn’t just change how teens communicate, they changed what it feels like to grow up. When a device becomes your social currency, your identity mirror, and your constant audience, pressure stops being an occasional thing and turns into a 24/7 weight you carry everywhere. We talk with Tara Hodgson, a teacher and young adult author from Alberta, Canada, about what she sees in the classroom th...

Someone you trust hurts you. You reach for the person who should protect you. Instead, you hear disbelief and blame. That moment can change how you move through the world, and it can take years to name what it stole from you. We sit down with Jojo Campbell, host of No Hard Feelings Kinda, to tell a story that’s painfully common and still rarely spoken out loud: sexual assault followed by family de...

A single college decision can feel like a verdict, and that pressure is warping how teens see themselves. We sit down with Linda Decker and Lisa Ruff, co-founders of the College Admissions Collective and authors of The Calm College Method, to name what’s really happening in modern college admissions: a high-anxiety system fueled by rankings, scarcity marketing, and social media noise that convince...

A teen who can’t read well isn’t just “behind in English” they’re locked out of vocabulary that fuels confidence, self expression, and real opportunity. That’s why this conversation with UK teen success coach and Switched On founder Claire Ford goes straight at the uncomfortable question: what are schools actually producing when reading for pleasure is at a 20 year low and students keep getting pu...

Your life can pivot on a decision you make in ten seconds and you usually feel the warning before you can explain it. I’m Fatima Bey, and I’m speaking straight to everyone under 21 with a rare solo message that’s raw, direct, and meant to keep you alive, free, and moving forward. I talk about the moment you ignore your inner voice because you don’t want to feel left out, you want to be wanted, or...

Grief doesn’t fade on a schedule, and it often hits hardest after everyone else has “gone back to normal.” I’m joined by Kelly Edmondson, a nurse, mother, and the founder and CEO of Timely Presence, to talk about the stretch of time most people overlook: the weeks and months after the funeral, when the texts slow down, sleep gets harder, and a teen can feel forgotten. We get specific about teen gr...

She didn’t just write a memoir about surviving foster care, abuse, addiction, and homelessness. She posted the records. Adrienne Caldwell joins us to talk about Unbroken, Life Outside the Lines and the decision to put her Children’s Protective Services case files, psychological evaluations, and counselor reports online as proof, context, and a public reclaiming of truth. We get into the uncomforta...

Someone taught a lot of us to get quiet. Not always with words, but with a look, a dismissal, a “you don’t know enough yet.” That lesson follows kids into adulthood, where low confidence turns into smaller choices and muted leadership. I sit down with Jackie Bailey, an international conversation coach and the executive director of the Speak Feed Lead nonprofit, to name the moment silence gets lear...

Think you need a title to lead? Think bigger. Leadership starts in small, daily choices—how you show up when no one is watching, how you treat people, and how boldly you stretch toward your potential. With leadership coach Leslie Nelson of Pivotal Connections, we dig into why growth isn’t optional, how to spot leaders in the making, and what to do once responsibility lands on your desk. We unpack...

What if fear isn’t failure—it’s silence before the first word comes out? We sit down with 13-year-old TEDx speaker Tanoushri Shriram to explore how tiny, consistent risks can transform a quiet voice into a confident one, even in a world where judgment feels nonstop. Tanoushri shares the moment a mentor nudged her to the front of a room without warning, and how that single push rewired her idea of...

Grief doesn’t hand out maps. We sat down with Guardian AIngels founder John Cammer to explore a simple but radical idea: what if your journal talked back with compassion, structure, and a voice that feels familiar enough to help you open up? John lost three close friends and spent years numbing the pain, until building an AI-guided journaling tool helped him finally cry and start the hard work of...

What if the label you see first is blinding you to the person who could change your team, your school, or your city? That question drives a candid conversation with Angela Calzone, president and CEO of Inroads to Opportunities, a New Jersey nonprofit serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health challenges. Together, we unpack how person-first thinking turns inc...

Think changing the world requires a title or a perfect plan? We make the case that real power lives in the rooms almost no one enters: school boards, city councils, and state committees where a handful of voices can move budgets, shape curricula, and set community priorities. With guest Braden Frame, a former firefighter turned political strategist and CEO of The Cartographers Group, we unpack how...

What if the thing you were told disqualifies you is actually your edge? We sit down with Janaya, a 20-year-old pre-law student who turned a learning disability and a stutter into a 4.0 semester, a spot on the Dean’s List, and 71 credits that pushed her into junior standing ahead of schedule. Her story isn’t a highlight reel—it’s a blueprint that trades vague motivation for step-by-step practice yo...

Ever feel like everyone else got a social manual you never received? Christopher Carazas joins us to talk about discovering he’s autistic at 35, after years of “passing” through school, work, and life across multiple continents. What starts as a story about diagnosis becomes a deeper look at masking, self-worth, and how seeing your wiring clearly can change everything. We trace his childhood throu...

What if the difference between chaos and clarity is just one breath? We sit down with 13-year-old TEDx speaker Vihan Reddy, whose calm response during a terrifying accident—a car running over his foot—reveals how a simple method can reshape choices under pressure. Vihan walks us through PACE: Pause, Assess, Choose, Engage. It’s a clean, four-step framework that turns raw emotion into practical act...

What if a child’s “hobby” could earn real money, build real confidence, and spark real change in a community? We sit down with Leah K. Ellis—author and founder of the Society of Child Entrepreneurs—to explore how kids as young as six can learn entrepreneurship, leadership, and financial literacy by selling real products to real customers and keeping the revenue. Leah shares the powerful story of a...

Imagine not needing an escape hatch from your own life. That’s the heart of our conversation as we speak directly to teens and young adults about the pull of gaming marathons, sleeping the day away, getting high, and drinking—not with judgment, but with real empathy for why these choices make sense when pain feels louder than hope. We break down how escapism offers control and quiet in the moment,...

What if “within policy” still feels wrong to the people you serve? We sit down with retired LAPD lieutenant Jeff Weninger to unpack the uncomfortable gap between legal justification and moral legitimacy—and how that space erodes community trust. Jeff brings a rare mix of multiracial upbringing, street experience, and command-level reform to show why mindset shapes outcomes more than any statute or...